Big Ten power rankings after Week 6: The rich get richer, the poor get poorer

buckeyeswire.usatoday.comvery Big Ten team took the field on Saturday, with Penn State and Minnesota both idle, but the other 12 teams took the field, with most doing what was expected.

Ohio State destroyed Michigan State, Michigan (eventually) dominated Indiana, Illinois (without Tommy DeVito for most of the game) outlasted Iowa, Nebraska got an unlikely road win at Rutgers, Wisconsin demolished Northwestern in Jim Leonhard’s first game as head coach, and Purdue took advantage of Maryland miscues to get a road win against a quality opponent.

PREVIOUSLY: Big Ten power rankings after Week 5

Week 6 didn’t have many high-powered matchups, but that’s soon to change, with Michigan hosting Penn State next week. For now, here is how our latest power rankings shook out.

Northwestern Wildcats (1-5)

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Welcome to the bottom, again, Northwestern.

We let the Wildcats ride out their win in Week 0 over Nebraska as long as we could, but let’s face it — it appears unlikely that Pat Fitzgerald’s team is going to win another game this season.

While the passing game was still productive in terms of total yardage, it was still prone to turnovers — with Ryan Hilinski throwing two interceptions. Again, the rushing attack was anemic, while the defense allowed Graham Mertz to finally look like a five-star. After looking moribund offensively, Wisconsin amassed over 500 yards against this defense.

Northwestern is the elixir to any ills that are plaguing any team, and a Badger squad that had fired its head coach a week ago came in looking like a well-oiled machine.

Again, it would be surprising if this team won another game this year. Northwestern is mercifully on a bye week next week.

Michigan State Spartans (2-4)

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The good news? MSU managed to put up 20 points against a solid Ohio State defense. The bad news? Everything else.

The Spartan defense allowed 614 yards of offense with C.J. Stroud tossing six touchdowns while the runners amassed 237 yards. Payton Thorne was abysmal, throwing for just 113 yards while the rushing attack (if you can call it that) got a grand total of seven yards on the ground — seven.

Michigan State is just uncompetitive, with Mel Tucker earning an astounding amount every game to be his opponent’s punching bag. With Wisconsin up this next week, a bye, and then Michigan, it seems unlikely that the Spartans will win a game in the month of October. At the moment, they’re riding a four-game losing streak. On top of everything, two of the teams that MSU lost to — Washington and Maryland — lost on Saturday. It’s a bleak fall for the green and white.

Indiana Hoosiers (3-3)

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Indiana hung around with Michigan for a half before its offense got completely shut down and its defense allowed the Wolverines to move the ball with impunity.

The pass-happy offense was decimated by the Wolverine pass rush, while the Hoosier run game never got going, as they managed just 19 yards on 25 carries. It was a valiant effort, for a half, but the Hoosiers are moving backward, and with Maryland, Rutgers, and Penn State next, it’s easy to see IU fall back down to earth after a hot start.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights (3-3)

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Rutgers fell back into old habits, turning the ball over, self-destructing, and finding ways to lose.

For much of the game on Friday night, the capacity crowd at SHI Stadium saw the Scarlet Knights look poised to win, but a late turnover gave Nebraska life, which the Huskers uncharacteristically took advantage of.

Now Rutgers is on a three-game losing streak, but it has a week to regroup before hosting Indiana in two weeks.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-3)

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So, Nebraska moves up, because it has won two games in a row, and is apparently better. But the blowout loss to Oklahoma is looking worse, considering that the Sooners have imploded since those two teams met.

And, it took a miracle turnover and subsequent touchdown on the next play to beat Rutgers on the road, but credit the Huskers for finding ways to win, after it got accustomed to finding ways to lose.

This still isn’t a good team, but it’s a step in the right direction. The Huskers travel to Purdue next week.

Iowa Hawkeyes (3-3)

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Well, Iowa’s gonna Iowa.

The Hawkeyes did what they usually do and muddied the waters at Illinois, and nearly won the game with what looked like a late fumble by Artur Sitkowski, before the call on the field was reversed. Basically, if the defense can’t get touchdowns in meaningful minutes, Iowa’s going to lose, because there is just no offense to speak of.

Iowa managed just 222 yards of offense, with 170 yards passing and just 52 yards rushing. Thank the heavens that it has a kicker, because otherwise, the Hawkeyes have no way of getting on the board.

Next week is a bye, but Iowa’s next game is at Ohio State.

Maryland Terrapins (4-2)

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Maryland had its chances, but it was undisciplined.

Penalties reared their ugly head, and the Terps squandered a golden opportunity to assert itself, as Purdue outdueled them in College Park.

Taulia Tagovailoa managed his usual 300-plus yards, but the run game was disappointing with just 72 yards on the ground. With a trip to Indiana coming this next week, the Terrapins should improve to 5-2, unless it falls into old patterns and implodes. Still, this looks like the third or fourth-best team in the East at the moment.

Wisconsin Badgers (3-3)

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The Jim Leonhard era is off to a rousing start, even if it’s against Northwestern.

Graham Mertz threw for nearly 300 yards, tossing for 299 and five touchdowns on Saturday, while Braelon Allen added a passing touchdown and 135 yards on the ground. The defense was solid against the run and recovered a fumble, though the pass defense still appears to be an issue.

Still, this was a step in the right direction for the Badgers, and with Michigan State up next, there’s a good chance that Wisconsin moves up to 4-3 next week.

Purdue Boilermakers (4-2)

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Don’t look now, but an inconsistent Purdue team is rounding into form.

After a season-opening loss to Penn State and another on the road at Syracuse, the Boilermakers have found ways to win. While the rushing game was abysmal, Aidan O’Connell returned and threw for 360 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday. The defense did allow Maryland to accumulate 315 yards through the air, but it stymied the Terps’ run game, allowing just 72 yards on the ground.

It wasn’t perfect — O’Connell threw an interception while Purdue also lost two fumbles — but the Boilermakers got a quality win on the road. With Nebraska coming to town this next week, it’s another solid chance to improve the standing in the West, especially considering they already have a win head-to-head against Minnesota.

Minnesota Golden Gophers (4-1)

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Minnesota was on bye this week, but has a trip to Illinois coming next week.

Illinois Fighting Illini (5-1)

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It wasn’t pretty, but Illinois found a way to get a win in front of a sold-out crowd against a good-not-great Iowa team.

Tommy DeVito was scratched due to injury, which changed the entire nature of the offense with Artur Sitkowski taking the helm. Thus, the box score looked very similar to any game last year, with a moribund passing attack — Sitkowski threw for 74 yards and an interception — while the rushing attack and defense saved the day. Chase Brown was solid once again, rushing 31 times for 146 yards. However, the Illini never found the endzone against Iowa, scoring on three field goals, including the game-winner in the final minutes of the game.

With Minnesota coming to town next week, Illinois is hoping to get DeVito back, because whoever wins that game will likely have control of the West.

Penn State Nittany Lions (5-0)

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Penn State had the luxury of sitting back and watching its next opponent, Michigan, win at Indiana on Saturday, as it was on bye.

Michigan Wolverines (6-0)

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Michigan’s fast start was stymied after running backs coach Mike Hart collapsed with an apparent seizure in the first quarter, and unlikely penalties mounted. However, the Wolverines rallied in the second half and absolutely dominated a feisty Indiana team on its home turf.

J.J. McCarthy was electric, passing for 304 yards while completing 78% of his passes. Blake Corum was solid again on the ground, amassing 124 yards on the ground, while Ronnie Bell was McCarthy’s favorite target through the air.

Just as impressive was the defense, which looked confused and incapable in the first half only to completely shut down the Hoosiers in the second. While Connor Bazelak managed 203 yards through the air — unsurprising given how much Indiana passes the ball — IU only had 17 yards rushing.

This still looks like a young team that’s figuring things out, but it turned what looked like an alarming performance into an impressive win in the end.

A ranked-on-ranked matchup is next with Penn State coming to town.

Ohio State Buckeyes (6-0)

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Well, Ohio State is formidable.

At the moment, despite Michigan State being the opponent in Week 6, OSU is playing like the best team in the nation, blowing out every team in its path. After a rocky start to the season, just about everything is working. The defense was stellar, as was the offense, which got 614 yards on the day.

TreVeyon Henderson returned to form, with 19 carries for 118 yards, while Emeka Egbuka, Marvin Harrison II, and Julian Fleming shined in the pass game.

The Buckeyes are showing no weaknesses at the moment, but the offense could be tested in two weeks when Iowa comes to town. However, even that seems unlikely at this juncture. For now, OSU can sit back and relax while it’s on bye.

Story originally appeared on Wolverines Wire